Job summary
Employer heading
Deputy Director (London Region)
NHS AfC: Band 9
Our Organisation
The NHS is building a culture that is positive, compassionate and inclusive – and we all have our part to play.
As employers we are committed to protecting and promoting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all our colleagues. This underpins our values as set out in the NHS Constitution and supports us to be an Employer of Choice, while helping our colleagues to deliver high quality services for our patients and communities.
As a flexible employer, we want to support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern. In addition, although the role advertised may have a ‘home’ office base indicated, we remain committed to supporting flexibility around workplace locations. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Job overview
London is a major global dynamic city. It offers a wealth of opportunities for people to lead healthy and happy lives, but it also presents issues and challenges to health.
This senior role leads a dynamic and innovative team with a wide and challenging portfolio, responsible for developing and delivering the London internal and external communications and engagement strategy. It also provides strategic counsel to the London Regional Director and their executive team.
You’ll have the opportunity to lead fascinating, creative and complex work, including communications for vaccination, screening and other campaigns aimed at tackling health inequalities, working within a friendly and fast-paced communications team.
The role provides professional leadership to some of the most experienced communicators in Trusts and ICBs, most at VSM level, providing advice and bringing colleagues together regularly to share learning.
Building relationships with stakeholders and partners including London councils and the Mayor of London will be important.
The successful candidate will also work closely with the national communications team to support national priorities.
The role holder will need to demonstrate exceptional leadership and vision, with a focus on strategic thinking, planning and delivery.
They will also need highly developed political antennae, deep understanding of media relations and extensive experience in crisis communications.
Main duties of the job
This senior role leads a dynamic and innovative team with a wide and challenging portfolio, responsible for developing and delivering the regional internal and external engagement and communications strategy.
A major part of this role is providing professional leadership to some of the most experienced communicators in Britain, and part of their trust, commissioner and ICS leadership teams, providing strategic expert advice in times of intense scrutiny.
Providing strategic counsel to the Regional Director and their senior leadership team is an integral part of the role.
The post-holder will support and advise on the delivery of the regional strategy, building relationships with senior colleagues in a range of stakeholders and partners.
They will therefore need to demonstrate exceptional leadership and vision, with a focus on strategic thinking, planning and delivery. They will need to have highly developed political skills and understanding and significant media relations and crisis communications experience, knowledge and skills.
Working for our organisation
The NHS England board have set out the top-level purpose for the new organisation to lead the NHS in England to deliver high-quality services for all, which will inform the detailed design work and we will achieve this purpose by:
- Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities.
- Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential.
- Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
- Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
- Delivering value for money.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in-person.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Communications/journalism qualification or equivalent experience of working within a senior role
- Educated to Masters level or equivalent level or equivalent experience of working at a senior level in specialist area
- Experience of project and programme management techniques and tools such as Prince 2 or Managing Successful Projects
Knowledge and experience
Essential criteria
- In depth additional expert knowledge acquired over a significant period of time in relating to engagement and communications
- Excellent understanding of the background and aims of current organsiational priorities and objectives and understand how engagement and communications can deliver this
- Substantial experience of working in a fast-paced environment, delivering against competing priorities and deadlines while also directing the work of teams/individuals
- Detailed understanding of varied communication channels, their impact, limitations, risks and opportunities, and detailed experience in their use.
Skills, Capabilities & Attributes
Essential criteria
- Demonstrate excellent levels of written and verbal communication, with the ability explain complicated issues fluently and persuasively
- Reliable, strong and detailed ability to spot the “story” in the detail of policy, whether that be one of opportunity or risk
- Analyse complex situations and provide advice to very senior managers
- Able to quickly understand complex health, social care, political and business issues and to use that understanding to develop effective approaches, providing advice to staff and colleagues
Values and Behaviours
Essential criteria
- Commitment to and focused on quality, promotes high standards in all they do
- Willingness to learn from other people's experiences, expertise and perspectives
- Appreciates the importance of engagement and communications in delivering for patients, improving services and supporting frontline staff
- Believes in the importance of helping colleagues and ensure team members support each other
- Able to make a connection between their work and the benefit to patients and the public
- Consistently thinks about how their work can help and support clinicians and frontline staff deliver better outcomes for patients
- Works well with others, is positive and helpful, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others
- Will consider the most effective way to promote equality of opportunity and good working relationships in employment and service delivery and has the ability to take actions which support and promote this agenda
- Consistently looks to improve what they do, looks for successful tried and tested ways of working, and also seeks out innovation
- Values diversity and difference operates with integrity and openness
- Self-awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness
- Demonstrates honesty and integrity and promotes organisational values
Other
Essential criteria
- Ability to travel across multiple sites where required
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Emma Smyth
- Job title
- Deputy Director, Comms & Engagement London Region
- Email address
- [email protected]
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